Cannabis trafficking charges carry hefty potential penalties

On behalf of Damon Cheronis of Law Offices of Damon M. Cheronis posted in Drug Trafficking on Friday, May 15, 2015.

Facing any drug charge can expose a person to some pretty significant potential consequences. However, there are some such charges where the penalties a person can face if convicted can be particularly hefty. Here in Illinois, one of these particularly penalty-hefty charges is cannabis trafficking.

When can a person face an Illinois cannabis trafficking charge? Under state law, they can face such a charge if they are accused of having knowingly trafficked at least 2,500 grams of cannabis into Illinois with the intent/purpose of delivery or manufacture.

A person can face much more severe penalties for being convicted of a cannabis trafficking charge than for conviction on a cannabis delivery/manufacturing charge. An example of this can be seen in Illinois law regarding prison sentences for cannabis trafficking convictions. Both the minimum prison sentence and the maximum prison sentence for a cannabis trafficking offense in the state are double what they are for a cannabis manufacturing/delivery offense of the same drug amount.

As a note, cannabis trafficking offenses involving more than 5,000 grams of cannabis-containing substance trigger higher penalty levels than cannabis trafficking offenses involving 5,000 grams or less of cannabis-containing substance.

Given the very hefty potential penalties attached to cannabis trafficking charges, a great deal can be hanging in the balance for a person when they are in criminal proceedings in relation to allegations of having committed cannabis trafficking here in Illinois. Experienced drug crime defense attorneys can provide legal guidance and defense-building services to individuals who are in this precarious situation.

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